Stop using the door if a lift cable is slack, frayed, snapped, or off its drum. A cable that has failed can leave the door hanging lower on one side, and both the cable and the bottom bracket are under spring tension. Do not pull on the cable, loosen the bottom bracket, or try to wind the cable back onto the drum. Keep people, pets and cars clear of the opening, then call for garage door cable repair.
The rest of this page covers how to tell a lift cable from a spring containment cable, the signs that one has failed, what to do in each door position, and what the repair involves.
Two kinds of cable
Not every cable on a garage door is a lift cable.
- Lift cables raise the door. On a torsion-spring door, one cable on each side runs from the bottom corner of the door up to a drum on the spring shaft. As the springs turn the shaft, the drums wind the cables and the door rises. On an extension-spring door, each lift cable runs from the bottom corner over pulleys to its spring.
- Safety containment cables are different. They run through the middle of each extension spring and stay put if that spring breaks, so the spring does not fly across the garage. Replacing those with a new spring pair is spring replacement, not a lift-cable repair.
If you are not sure which springs you have, how to tell a torsion spring from an extension spring is the check.
Signs a lift cable has failed
The door hangs crooked, or one side opens first
A cable that has come off its drum, or a cable that has snapped, lets that side of the door drop. The door then binds in the tracks or comes out of them. Stop using it. A crooked door is also a common sign of a broken spring; either way, leave it where it is.
A cable is slack, hanging, or off the drum
Stand inside with the door closed and look at the bottom corners and the drums or pulleys above. A working lift cable is tight. A failed one hangs, sits off the drum groove, or has a visible broken end. Do not touch it.
Broken strands, rust, or a cable that looks thin
A frayed cable is the warning before a snap. Broken wires mean the remaining strands are carrying the load. Keep using that door and the cable can fail under the door's weight.
You heard a bang, then the door sat uneven
A spring often breaks first. When it does, the lift cable goes slack and can slip off the drum. The bang is the spring; the crooked door is the cable following it. Both need to be checked on the same visit. See what to do when a spring breaks.
What to do right now
If the door is closed
Leave it closed and stop using the opener. Do not pull the red release to "see if it lifts." Note which side looks lower or which cable looks slack, so you can say that when you call.
If the door is stuck open or hanging crooked
Keep people, pets and cars out from under it. Do not pull the red release. Do not try to push the high side down or lift the low side. Do not pull the cable or loosen the bottom bracket: those parts are still under spring tension. If the house cannot be secured, that is an emergency garage door repair call.
Whatever position the door is in
Leave the cable, drums, bottom brackets and springs alone. Do not try to wind a cable back onto a drum. Cable and spring work is not a DIY job.
When you call, say whether the door is closed, partly open, or hanging crooked, and which town you are in.
Why cables come off
A lift cable stays on its drum or pulley only while it is under tension. It goes slack when a spring breaks, when the door binds in the track, or when the door lands on something on the way down. A slack cable can slip off; the door then hangs lower on one side.
That is why a cable repair includes checking the springs, drums and track that let it happen. A door that has come out of its track as well needs off-track repair.
What cable repair involves
The current price range, and recent cable jobs by town and month, are on the garage door cable repair page. Every repair is also on the full price list. You get the exact price in writing before any work starts.
A typical visit replaces the failed lift cable (usually as a pair, because the other side has the same wear), seats both cables on the drums or pulleys, checks the springs and track, rebalances the door, and tests the safety reversal. If a spring caused the cable to go slack, that spring is quoted too.
Town does not change the price. Cable repair in Chelmsford, cable repair in Lowell, and cable repair in Andover are the same work at the same range.
Winter makes a weak cable fail sooner
Cold mornings add strain: grease thickens, the bottom seal can freeze to the floor, and a spring that is already near the end of its rating can snap overnight. When the spring goes, the cable often comes off with it. The cold-weather garage door guide covers the frozen-seal and spring cases. If you already have a slack or frayed cable heading into winter, do not wait for the first hard freeze.
Think a cable has failed? Call Murray's Garage Door Services at (978) 758-0690 or book online, and see garage door cable repair for prices and recent jobs. If the door is stuck open or a car is trapped, go straight to emergency garage door repair.